Mistake or Blessing?
by ValentineRose28
Summary: Max and Fang have just been unexpectantly dumped. When their friends drag them out to a bar and they meet, it isn't exactly love at first sight. But, after a couple drinks, they start to think a bit differently. They're in for a surprise in the morning!
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MAXIMUM RIDE!**

**A/N NO WINGS! IF YOUR READING THIS, THAT MEANS awesomeness12 IS, OF COURSE, AWESOME ENOUGH TO LET ME DO IT! THANKS! THIS STORY IS DEDICATED TO awesomeness12!**

**Drunken Love**

**Chapter 1**

_ring-ring-ring-r-_

I grabbed the phone and saw on the caller I.D. that it was Dylan.

"Hey you." I answered happily. We had been dating for about 4 months, and I think things had been going well.

"Hey. We need to talk." he said. Uh oh…that doesn't sound good.

"Um, ok. You wanna meet up somewhere?" I asked uncertainly.

"No. let's just get this over with. I don't think things are working between us. I think we should see other people. I hope we can-"

"Do NOT say we can still be friends. I don't want to ever see you again, much less be your friend" I spit out, then slammed the phone down on the receiver. I leaned against the wall, then slowly slid into a sitting position. I buried my face in my hands and cried. I had really thought this relationship was going somewhere…God, it's always the same: a couple months of dating, then BAM! They hit me with the breakup. "It's not you it's me," or, "I hope we can still be friends," or, "I think we should take a break." and then they move to Florida! (I live in a small town right outside of Las Vegas.). Well, they don't always move to Florida. Just that one guy…but that's beside the point!

I stood up and walked to the small bathroom in my apartment. I loved everything about this apartment, because when I moved in my friends and I decorated it how I wanted. The walls of the living area were painted a soft crème color, with a coffee colored couch against the wall and a TV mounted on the wall opposite it. There was an oval shaped rug in front of the couch underneath the coffee table. A pretty vase of lilies was on it next to a stack of coasters. The kitchen was small and conventional, with a white refrigerator, a coffee maker, an old stove, a microwave, and a toaster. My bedroom was my favorite room: it had dark purple walls, with a sliding door that opened out onto the small balcony that looked over the city.

My room had a twin-sized bed that had a lime green comforter with big orange circles on it. The sheets were bright blue. I had a big, round, shag rug in the middle of the room that was orange and a blue dresser in the corner that had my alarm clock and a stack of magazines on it. Hanging from the ceiling was a light that almost looked like a disco ball, but it didn't rotate. On my bedside table there was a lava lamp, and scattered randomly around the walls were various paintings of peace signs and hearts and what-not.

I finished up in the bathroom, then went to find a snack in the kitchen.

"Ugh, why don't I ever have any food?" I groaned to my self. I grabbed my purse and my cell phone and headed out the door to go to the grocery store. I hopped in my car, and drove the ten minutes to the nearest Walmart. Once I got there, I ran inside, because it had started raining really hard.

I walked the aisles and picked up everything I needed: milk, chips, soda, bottles of water, some strawberries and watermelon, and some green beans and peas. As I was leaving the canned food aisle, I ran into a guy who looked to be around 21, just like me, who was dressed in dark clothes and had this gorgeous hair. It was black, and longish. The bangs came partially down over his dark, brooding eyes. He looked like he had just gone through a bad break up: his eyes were bloodshot, and the corners of his mouth were pointing down in a fierce frown.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry!" I said, dropping my basket of groceries on his foot.

"It's fine." he said then bent over and picked up the basket, handed it to me, and moved on into the aisle. I frowned at the back of his head, then headed over to the check out line.

"Thank you for shopping at Walmart, come again." said the bored looking cashier, not even looking up at me.

"Um, hello? Angel! God, you would think you would recognize your best friend's voice!" I exclaimed, waving my hand in front of her face to expel her from her trance of boredom. She jumped, startled, then looked at me.

"Oh, woops! Sorry, Max, you know I hate this job." she said, smiling at me. I rolled my eyes, and grabbed my bags.

"Hey, Max, do you wanna come out to the bar with us tonight? You can invite Dylan." she said, looking hopeful. I felt my wall break down that I had put up ever since I cried out my pain over our breakup.

"Um, he broke up with me…this morning." I said, my voice breaking near the end. Her heart shaped face filled with concern and anger, and she came out from behind the counter to wrap her arms around me. I turned and buried my face in the crook of her neck.

"I really thought this one was going to work out, Angel." I said through my tears. She just hugged me closer. Someone walked up to Angel cash register, looking for service.

"Um, excuse me?" the old man asked rudely.

Angel took a deep breath, then suddenly let me go and whirled around to face him.

"No, excuse ME! Can't you see we are FEELING here?" Angel yelled at him. He blinked in surprise then walked away. Ah, Angel. She's sweet…unless you piss her off. Then, her name isn't so fitting…

"Hey, I'm real sorry about that jerk-wad Dylan." she said, sighing and turning back around to face me with a tired smile on her pretty face. I sent a watery smile her way, then picked up my bags from the floor where I had dropped them.

"So you wanna come to the bar with us tonight? Drink your problems away?" she asked. I thought about it for a second. Maybe it would be good to get out for a while.

"I don't drink, you know that. But I will come, to hang out with you guys." I said, then waved and left Walmart.

I ran through the parking lot to my car, because it was still pouring. I finally reached my car, and threw in my stuff and jumped in. I pushed my sopping wet bangs back and brushed water out of my eyes.

I placed both hands on the steering wheel and just stared off into space. I was thinking about all the good times we had had together. Like that one time we went on a picnic and got attacked by bees, and we had to abandon our blanket and food and run away as fast as we could. We finally outran the bees and we were panting, bent over with our hands on our knees. I laughed and looked at his blue eyes, and he laughed too. We were sitting by a stream, and I dipped one hand into it and splashed him. He yelled in surprise, then splashed me back. We had a water fight, until he picked me up bridal style and threw me into the cool, clear water. I shrieked, because it was SO cold. I shook my head, coming out of flashback mode and turned the car on and drove home.

I decided to wear my favorite pair of black super skinny jeans with a pair of black strappy high heels and a black halter top that said "University Girl" across the chest in red, choppy letters. I curled my blond hair and applied light make-up. My eyes are weird: if you apply to much eye-liner, they look dull, if you apply a little, they look sooo blue. Therefore, I only apply a little. **(A/N I know Max has Brown eyes and brown hair, but this is how I picture her in my head for this story. Sorry if this upsets anyone.) **I got a text from Angel at about 7 telling me to be ready in half an hour because her and Nudge were coming to get me.

I brushed my teeth and put some lip gloss on. At exactly 7:30, Nudge pulled up and blared her horn. Monique (we call her Nudge. I can't remember why…I think we were drunk when we gave her that nickname), Angel, Iggy, and Stephen (otherwise know as The Gasman, or Gazzy) are all in the same classes at the university we're going to. We all became good friends in freshmen year, except for me and Angel. We had been friends since 2nd grade. We are…inseparable. She's like my sister.

"HEY!" Nudge yelled when I got into her car.

"Hey, Nudge." I said, rolling my eyes at her hyperness. She was the chatterbox of the group, Angel was the fire-and-ice one (meaning that she was sweet, but scary when you made her angry) and I was the calm, boring, one-relationship-after-another one. I know, awful title, but it's who I was.

"Are you ready to party girls?" she shrieked excitedly. I rolled my eyes again and said sure.

"Totally." Angel said kindly, nodding her head. We arrived at the bar, and piled out of the car. I saw Iggy and Gazzy just entering the bar, so we rushed to catch up with them.

Let the fun begin!

**A/N Wow, long chapter! So tell me what you think! The exciting part happens in the next chapter! Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MAXIMUM RIDE!

A/N WOO HOO, SECOND CHAPTER! I actually really like this story so far. Again, this is dedicated to awesomeness12! Oh, and I forgot to mention it, but this story is completely wing free!

Mistake or Blessing?

Chapter 2

**We grabbed barstools and ordered a couple drinks. **

"**I will just have water please." I said pleasantly to the bar tender. He gave me a funny look, but placed a glass of ice water in front of me. I took a sip, then swiveled around to face Angel, who was on my right. **

"**I really like it when we go to this bar." I said. She nodded, and took a sip of her margarita. **

"**Hey, Fang! Over here!" Iggy yelled across the room to a black clad guy who looked mysteriously like…**

"**Hey! I was him at Walmart today! I ran into him then dropped my basket on his foot." I said, cringing at the memory. Angel glanced sideways at me and shook her head in a disappointed way.**

"**Max, Max, Max. You meet a hot guy and act like a total moron?" she asked, then made a tsking sound. I shoved her playfully, then took another sip of water. **

"**Hey, guys, this is Nick, but he likes to be called Fang." Iggy said, introducing him to us.**

"**Fang, that's Gazzy, Nudge, Angel, and Max." he said pointing to each of us in turn. Fang nodded, then sat next to me, because it was the only available barstool left. **

"**Uh, I'll just have a beer." he said lowly, flashing his I.D. to the bar tender. **

"**So, hi." I said awkwardly, "do you go to the same University as us?"**

"**Yeah, but different classes." he answered shortly. **

"**Oh, um, ok." I said, turning back to Angel.**

"**I don't think he wants to sit next to me." I said to her. She chugged the rest of her drink, than rolled her eyes at me. **

"**Oh, he's just shy." she said, then ordered two shots of tequila.**

"**Why did you get two?" I asked her confusedly.**

"**One for me and one for you silly!" she said. **

"**I don't drink." I said dumbly.**

"**You do tonight. You need to have some fun! Forget about Dylan breaking up with you."**

"**Well, I had forgotten about it until you brought it back up!" I said as the bar tender set down a shot in front of each of us. She threw her's down, but I just cautiously picked mine up and took a little sip. It burned all the way down, and I coughed.**

"**No, stupid, you hafta do it all at the same time!" she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I tipped my head back and poured the clear liquid down my throat. I shuddered as it hit my stomach. I set the glass down, and took a sip of water to make my throat stop burning.**

"**That was awful! I cant believe you do this for fun!" I said incredulously. She wiggled her eyebrows at me, then ordered two more. **

"**Are you trying to get me drunk?" I said.**

"**No, I'm trying to make you forget!" she said.**

**Two more shot glasses were placed on the bar between us.**

"**Cheers!" Angel yelled, lifting her glass to clink it with mine. I threw my head back like she did, and I have to admit, it didn't burn as much this time. **

"**Can I get a beer?" I asked. The bar tender smiled at me as if I was finally doing something right. **

"**Hey, you wanna shot?" I asked Fang, who was staring off into space.**

"**No." he answered. I lifted an eyebrow, then ordered two shots anyway.**

"**Here you go." the bar tender said, placing two shots and a beer down in front of me. I smiled at him, and took a swig of the bitter beer. I made a face, shrugged, then took another sip. I slid a shot in front of Fang and nudged his hand towards it. He sighed, then took it so I would leave him alone. We threw back the shots, and slammed the glasses down onto the bar. The bar we were at was like a club almost, because there was a DJ and people were dancing and stuff. It was pretty cool.**

"**See, alcohol isn't gonna hurt you!" Angel said to me over the music. I looked around to see that Iggy and Nudge were dancing and Gazzy was talking to some random girl over by the edge of the dance floor. **

**This guy came over to Angel and asked her to dance, and she nodded eagerly, jumped off her barstool, then let him lead her to the middle of the crowd. I turned back to the bar, and ordered two shots of whiskey.**

"**You tryin' to get me drunk?" Fang asked, and I left. He raised an eyebrow.**

"**That's exactly what I asked Angel." I said between giggles, "And Imma answer the same way too 'No, I'm trying to make you forget'" **

"**How do you know I'm trying to forget something?" he asked suspiciously.**

"**Would you be sitting here sulking if you weren't trying to forget something?" I asked, not laughing anymore. He looked thoughtful for a second, before nodding slowly.**

"**I guess you're right."**

"**I'm always right!" I said, laughing again. I downed the shot, then took another swig of my beer. Fang drank his shot too, then ordered 2 more.**

"**No whose trying to get who drunk?" I asked. He rolled his eyes, then sipped his beer. We sat in silence for a second, before I turned to study him.**

"**Take a picture, it'll last longer." he said bitterly. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he turned to face me.**

"**Why don't you like me? You don't even know me." I asked accusingly.**

"**Don't take it personally. I don't really like anybody anymore." he muttered, looking away.**

"**So why are you here?" I asked.**

"**They dragged me here because I got dumped by my girlfriend, Lissa, and said that I needed to forget about her." he said.**

"**Funny, that's exactly why I'm here." I said, staring at the full shot glass in my hand. I knocked it back, then licked my lips. **

"**Love sucks." he said, drinking his shot too. **

**I burst out laughing, which earned me a funny look from Fang.**

"**Get it? Fang? Sucks? HAHAHAHA" I said between giggles. We had had at least 5 shots of hard liquor. I wasn't completely drunk, but I was getting there. I drained my beer, then ordered a frozen margarita.**

"**Wow, that was a really bad joke. You must not be able to hold your liquor very well." he said, laughing at my laughter.**

"**That's because I never drink. Only a little beer every now and then, but I've never gotten drunk. I hadn't ever had whiskey or tequila before tonight either." I said, taking a long sip of the margarita. He raised an eyebrow then ordered us two more shots of tequila.**

"**Yay!" I said happily. **

"**So, why did your boyfriend dump you?" he asked, still slowly sipping his beer.**

"**I don't know…" I said , "why did Lissa dump you?" I asked.**

"**She said she met someone better. Some jaskass named Dylan." he said, glaring at the bar. My hand froze on my drink, and I looked at him from the corner of my eyes.**

"**Your kidding?" I said softly.**

"**No, why?" he said, turning on his stool to face me. **

"**Dylan was the name of my boyfriend." I said.**

"**Maybe it's just a coincidence…" he said. I shrugged, then we drank the shots together. I could feel the effects of the alcohol taking over my system. It felt great, the pain of the break-up wasn't as awful anymore. I swayed in my seat, and Fang's hand snapped out to steady me before I fell off my seat. **

"**Thanks." I murmured. He nodded.**

"**You wanna play a game?" he asked suddenly. I said sure.**

"**Ok, it's called ABC cities. You hafta name a city for each letter of the alphabet aat your turn. So if the letter was a I would say Abilene, then it would be your turn. B, so you would say Bryan or something. But, if you can't think of a city, you hafta do a shot of tequila. Ok?" he said.**

"**Sure, sounds fun!"**

"**Ok, I'll start. A, so Abilene." **

"**B so Brownsville."**

"**C so College Station."**

"**D so um…I don't know." I said. He smirked, then ordered me a shot. It was placed in front of me, and I downed it.**

"**E so…wow, I don't know that one." he got a shot too and drained it. We played that game for hours, and we were sooo drunk by the end of it.**

"**That was sooo much fun, Fang!" I slurred. I looked up at him. He had this goofy smile on his face. **

"**It was, I'd play it again, but I can't remember what it was!" he said, laughing. **

"**Can I get a beer, please?" I asked the bar tender. He set a bottle down in front of me, and I took a big sip. **

"**Max? Are you drunk?" Angel asked incredulously, finally coming back to sit by me at the bar to get a drink. She ordered a water, drained it, then stood back up.**

"**Um, I don't know. I cant remember!" I giggled lifting up my hands with the palms facing skyward. She laughed, then went to go dance some more.**

"**Hahahaha, she's weird." Fang said.**

"**I know right?" I said, facing him.**

"**You know…you're pretty." he said, staring at me as if he had just met me. I felta blush creep up my neck and come to a rest in my cheeks.**

"**Thanks." I murmured quietly.**

"**No, you are. You're beautiful." he said, then reached out and brushed the hair out of my face. I leaned into his warm hand. **

"**I loooooove you Fang." I said softly. **

"**Me too…" he said.**

"**Hey! Let's get married! There's a chapel across the street! You wanna?" I said, standing up. **

"**Yea! Let's do it!" he said, jumping up too. We ran out of the bar and across the street. Once we got to the chapel, we said some vows and he slid his class ring onto my finger.**

"**I thought only seniors got these." I said, looking down at it.**

"**It's my brothers. He gave it to me." he murmured, then the priest said "you may now kiss the bride".**

**Fang took my face into his hands and kissed me sweetly on the lips. We left after that, and we were married! We caught a taxi to his apartment, and the last thing I remember was him pushing me up against the wall of his bedroom and kissing me…**

**A/N WOO, done. It's really long too! I think we all know where that last line was going, but this is a t-rated fic. Plus I don't write gross stuff like that, sorry. I am really liking this story! REVIEW! Pwease?**


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MAXIMUM RIDE!**

**Mistake or Blessing?**

**Chapter 3**

Ugh, what's wrong with my head? It feels like it's splitting open. I opened my eyes, but closed them again quickly. The light was too painful. I was going to kill Angel for dragging me to that bar last night. I was laying on my side thinking of all the ways I was going to kill her, when I was suddenly aware of a very warm arm around my waist. It hugged me closer to the person it was attached to.

My eyes shot open, despite the painfully bright sunshine. I slowly looked down at myself and was mortified to find that I wasn't wearing any clothing at all. My eyes got impossibly wider, and I shot up out of the bed that I realized wasn't mine. Fang opened his eyes at the sudden jolt and looked at me standing there, trying (and failing) to cover myself with my hands. I grabbed the comforter off his bed and wrapped it around my body. Fang sat up and stared at me.

"Wh-what happened last night?" I asked, my voice scratchy and hoarse. He just closed is eyes and shook his head. I marched over to him and shook his shoulders.

"What. Happened?" I asked again, very deliberately. He looked up into my eyes.

"I…I think we got married and then…you know." he said. My hands dropped from his shoulders and I backed away from him slowly.

"No, no that could NOT have happened! It just couldn't have! We aren't in love. What will our friends say? What will my parents say?" I was starting to get hysterical. Fang stood up with the sheet wrapped around his waist. He folded me in a hug and I burst into tears.

"Shhh, it's ok. It's ok." he soothed. I just buried my face in his chest and cried harder. After I was all cried out, I showered and put on some of his basketball shorts and a t-shirt that was a couple sizes too big for me. He had made breakfast: pancakes and bacon with orange juice. I tried to eat, but my hangover was way too bad.

"Ugh, how are you eating?" I groaned, laying my head onto the table.

"I'm not sure. My head hurts, but I'm not nauseous or anything." he said shrugging.

"I'm going to go call Angel." I said, standing up.

I dialed Angel's number and, despite it being 7:30, she answered on the first ring.

"Max! God, I was so worried! You just disappeared! No one knew where you went! Are you ok?" she yelled into the phone.

"Ange, hangover. Talk quietly please. I'm fine, I'm at Fang's apartment. Something happened. We got really drunk and then…well…we sorta got married." I said the last part in a rush.

"Oh my God, you didn't!" she said, laughing.

"Angel, this is sooo not funny!" I yelled, then cringed in pain.

"Maximum Ride, this is hilarious! Hey, Nudge! You will never guess what Max did last night!" she yelled.

"Angel, don't, please." I begged, but it was too late, she had hung up.

"UGH!" I yelled to the empty room.

"Something wrong?" Fang asked, scaring the crap out of me. He was leaning against the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. I whirled to face him.

"No, getting drunk and married and having sex with someone I just met has always been my dream! We need to get an annulment. I'll call Iggy, he probably knows someone who could help us out." I said, already dialing my phone, but Fang's hand covered mine right before I hit send. I looked up into his dark eyes, confusion clear on my face.

"Don't both parties have to agree to the annulment?" he asked.

"Yes…" I said slowly.

"Well, I don't agree. I don't want to get an annulment." he said firmly.

"Excuse me?" I sputtered.

"I like being married to you. If you don't, I'm sorry. But give me a chance. 2 months, if I haven't won you over then, you can leave me." he said. I looked at him incredulously, then narrowed my eyes.

"Fine." I spit out. I shoved his hand off my phone and stalked out of the room. I went to the kitchen and started washing the dishes. After I was done, I looked around his apartment. It was nice, average, but clean.

"What time is it?" Fang asked.

"Um, like, 8":00 now." I said glancing at my watch. He nodded, then went and took a shower. I sat on his couch and thought about last night. God, this is why I do NOT drink! I mean, this is what it leads to. I feel like such an idiot. I flipped the TV on and pretended to watch it as Fang came in, towel drying his hair.

"Whacha watching?" he asked, plopping down next to me. I scooted as far as the tiny couch would allow and shrugged. Fang just sighed.

"What's wrong?" he asked warily.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just fine." I said stubbornly, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Would you like a ride home" he asked. I nodded. We stood up and gathered up my clothes then got into his roommate's car.

"He won't be angry?" I asked. Fang just shook his head, and started the car and pulled away from the car. We rode in silence. When he finally pulled up at my apartment complex , I climbed out of the car, threw a thanks over my shoulder, and walked to my apartment.

"Wait, Max!" Fang said, running up to me. I turned to face him. "Tomorrow night, 7:00, the little diner around the corner. Be there." he said.

"And what if I don't?" I asked.

"You will. See you later. Wife." he said, smirking.

"Ugh! You are impossible!" I yelled at his retreating back. I turned and stormed into my apartment, only to find Nudge lounging on my couch, watching my TV, and eating my favorite chips.

"How did you get in?" I asked, standing by the door.

"Don't be stupid, I know where you hide the key." she said.

"Why are you here?" I asked tiredly. She laughed and sat up.

"Just wanted to hear it in person. Angel told everybody. I think she may have posted it on Facebook too." she brushed her hands off on her hands and stood up. She walked over to me and gave a once-over.

"What are you wearing?" she asked. I looked down. I had completely forgotten that I was wearing Fang's clothes.

"Oh, um, they're Fang's." I answered, a blush creeping up into my cheeks. She laughed again and opened her arms for a hug. I stepped into them and clung to her.

"Nudge, he won't sign any separation papers for two months! He wants to win me over or something. What am I gonna do?" I cried, frustrated, into her shoulder. She patted my back. I stepped away from her and threw the clothes onto the floor and went to get and aspirin, because my head was killing me.

"You wanna go do something tonight? See a movie? Grab a drink?" she asked hopefully. I just glared at her.

"No, I do not wanna go get a drink! This is how all this shit happened!" I yelled.

"Well, what about a movie? We could invite Angel. Please?" she beggedd, giving me bambi-eyes.

"What are you, 4?" I snorted. "Fine, we can go see a movie." I gave in.

"Yay! There's a romance movie starting at 8:00 tonight! See you then!" she yelled, then grabbed her purse and ran out the door. I sighed, then went and changed into some jeans and a different t-shirt, then walked across the street to the coffee shop.

"Um, just a medium coffee please." I told the barista. She nodded, then bustled off to get my order. I went to the pickup counter and waited for it to be ready. She placed it down in front of me, and I picked it up and walked over to an empty table.

I took a sip of the bitter coffee, then laid my head down on the table. I heard a chair scrape across the tile across from me and I lifted my head up to look at a tall blonde stranger.

"Hello. You ok?" he asked suavely.

"I'm fine." I said, then laid my head down on the table again.

"You look pretty bad. Are you sure I can't do anything for you?" he asked. I looked up at him and sat back in my chair.

"I'm married." I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Oh. Gotta go." he said moving on to the next table who had a girl sitting by herself. I shook my head in disgust.

Perv.

**A/N weird chapter…oh well. Tell me whacha think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!**

**A/N these are some songs I listened to while writing this chapter. **

"**She is Love" by Parachute (I love love LOVE this song )**

"**Drops of Jupiter" by Train**

"**Mess I Made" by Parachute (I love this song too…I just love this band in general)**

"**Dreaming With A Broken Heart" by John Mayer**

"**Gone" by Matt Nathanson**

"**Don't Dance" by 3Oh!3**

**You should check them all out. They rock!**

**Mistake or Blessing?**

**CHAPTER 4**

"Nudge, I really don't want to go!" I whined as she was dragging me out of my apartment. She shoved me into the car and starts driving. We were going to the movies with Iggy, Angel, and Gazzy.

"I'll call Iggy and get him to invite Fang." Nudge said.

"NO, please don't do that!" I said, but it was too late: she had already dialed.

"Hello? Yea, hey Iggy, can you call and invite Fang please? I don't know why she wont, she just doesn't want to. You need to call him. Please? Please, Iggy?" she begged.

"Really, YAY! Thank you sooo much, Iggy! You're the best!" she squealed into the phone. He must have agreed to invite him.

Well damn.

"I hate you so much right now." I said, giving her a steady glare. She just laughs and keeps driving. We arrive at the theatre and get out of the car.

"Hey, over here!" Iggy shouts to us across the parking lot. We make our way to him.

"The movie is sold out, and the next viewing is at like, 1:00 A.M." Angel says.

"Well, what do you want to do now?" I ask.

"Lets go to this lounge. It's open mic night!" Nudge said hopefully.

"Sounds great, let's go!" Angel says. I shake my head and open my mouth to say no, but Iggy and Gazzy grab my arms and hold on tight.

"Nope, you have to come with us Max." Angel says deviously. Ha! Some angel she is…

"Come on guys, I don't want to go!" I exclaim, struggling to get free.

"Put her in the car. Ange? You come with us." Nudge says, and they cart me off and shove me in her car.

"You guys suck." I say, pouting in the backseat.

"Yea, but you love us anyway!" Angel yells. I roll my eyes, and sit there silently until we pull up to this lounge Nudge was talking about. It actually looks really nice on the outside. I dragged myself out of the car and walked with the others to the front door. I avoided eye contact with Fang, who was trying really trying to get my attention.

We went in and sat down in one of the booths.

"Hey, can I get y'all anything?" said a cute waiter. He winked at me and I smiled back at him. Fang possessively put his arm around my shoulders, and I shrugged it off.

"What are you doing?" I hissed at him, low enough that no one else heard.

"Me? I'm not doing anything." he replied icily.

"So…um do you want anything, babe?" the waiter asked, talking to me only. Fang gave him a death glare.

"Sure, just a water please." I said, batting my eyelashes at him.

"Comin' right up." he said, then sauntered away.

"What the hell is your problem?" I asked Fang accusingly.

"Nothing." he replied.

"Whatever." I said, turning away from him. I met Angel's eyes. She nodded towards the bathroom and I stood up and made my way to it. She followed close behind me.

"Max, he's so jealous." Angel gushed, before we had even made it into the bathroom.

"No he's not. He doesn't even like me. He just likes torturing me." I said miserably.

"Would he want to 'win you over' if he wasn't totally in love with you?" she asked. I just shrugged.

"Exactly." she said smugly. We washed our hands, then left.

I sat back down next to Fang, and the waiter brought our drinks over.

"So, what's your name?" he asked me.

"Max." I answered, smiling up at him.

"Well, Max, I'm Shane. It's nice to meet you." he said, kissing my hand. I giggled. This is like something you would see in an old movie. I felt Fang stiffen beside me.

"So, if there's anyone else out there who wants to give the mic a try, come on up!" said an overly enthusiastic guy on stage.

"Let me out." Fang said. I stood up and watched him walk up to the stage. He muttered something to the band, then turned around to face the mic. He took a deep breath and began to sing.

"**Can you tell me how we got in this situation,I can't seem to get you off my mind,all these ups and downs,they trip up our good intentions,nobody said this was easy all we're only human,always fighting what we're feeling,hurt instead of healing,after all we're only human,is there any other reason why we stay instead of leavin' after allCan we get back to the point of this conversation,when we saw things through each others eyes,cause now all I see is ruin and devastation,we all need some place we can hide inside andAfter all we're only human,always fighting what we're feeling,hurt instead of healing,after all we're only human,is there any other reason why we stay instead of leavin'I'm smart enough to know,that life goes by,and it leaves a trail of broken hearts behind,if you feel I'm letting go,just give me time,I'll come running to your side,Can you tell me how we got in this situation,I can't seem to get you off my mind causeAfter all we're only human,always fighting what we're feeling,hurt instead of healing,after all we're only human,is there any other reason why we stay instead of leavin' After all we're only human,always fighting what we're feeling,hurt instead of healing,After all we're only human,is there any other reason why we stay instead of leavin' after allAny other reasonto stay instead of leavin'after all, yeah"**

He was looking deep into my eyes as he sang that song, and it hit me: he might actually have feeling other than hate towards me. Well, too bad for him. I wasn't cracking on this. I did not want to be married right now. I crossed my arms and looked away for the first time since he began the song. The entire crowd inside the lounge erupted in screams.

"ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!" our table began the chant, and soon the rest of the place picked it up until Fang went back to the mic.

"**I've been beaten downI've been kicked aroundBut she takes it all for meAnd I lost my faithIn my darkest daysBut she makes me want to believeThey call her love, love, love, love, loveThey call her love, love, love, love, loveShe is loveAnd she is all I needShe's all I needWell I had my waysAnd they were all in vainAnd she waited patientlyIt was all the same All my pride and shame,But she put me on my feetThey call her love, love, love, love, loveThey call her love, love, love, love, loveShe is loveAnd she is all I needShe is loveAnd she is all I needShe is loveAnd she is all I need"**

Again, he never broke eye contact with me, and I sure as hell wasn't going to be the first to look away. The crowd broke into loud cheers, and Fang stepped down from the stage.

"My turn!" Nudge squealed, then ran up to grab the mic. She sang some song from this movie called "Mama Mia" then sat down, breathless.

"Ok, so it's 12:30 now, should we leave for the movie theatre?" I asked. Everyone nodded, so we piled back into our cars and drove to the theatre.

"6 please, for whatever horror movie is showing at 1." I asked the ticket guy politely.

"Here you go, baby." he said, passing me the tickets. He looked to be about my age, and he was cute. Wow, I'm getting flirted with more than I did before I got married. I gave him a saucy smile, before I was carted off by Fang.

"Why are you flirting with everyone?" he asked me, running a hand through his black hair.

"Because it aggravates you." I replied hotly. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Why do you hate me?" he asked.

"Because you won't sign the friggin papers!" I hissed.

"You know you don't want me to sign those papers." he laughed harshly.

"You know what? I really kinda do!" I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

He opened his mouth to say something else, when Angel interrupted us.

"Sorry to disrupt your scream-off, but the movie is about to start." she said impatiently.

"We will finish this later." I whispered to him as we walked back to the group.

"Okay…mom." he whispered back sarcastically. I forced myself not to say anything. I just stared straight ahead and walked with the little group into the theatre. I sat down between Angel and, unfortunately, Fang. The lights went down and the movie started. At first it wasn't scary, but near the middle I was jumping at the loud noises, and by the end I was literally in Fang's lap burying my face in his chest.

The movie ended, and we all stood up. I was shaking, I hated scary movies. They give me nightmares for months.

"Max, you ok?" Angel asked, laughing. She lives for movies like that.

"Um, no. I'm gonna go home." I said, then realized I needed someone to drive me.

"I'll drive you, I'm going home now anyways." Fang offered. I was too shaken up to object, so I nodded and got into the passenger side of his car.

"So I take it you didn't like the movie?" he asked once we were moving.

"Um, no." I answered quietly.

"I did." he said with a smirk. "I got to hold you most of the time."

"Shut up." I answered, not even bothering to come up with a proper biting retort.

"You're really scared aren't you?" he asked, suddenly sounding concerned. I just stared straight ahead, and I'm guessing I had my "Deer in the headlights" look on my face, because he turned to look at me.

"Do you need something?" he asked, not knowing what to do. I just shook my head. He pulled up to my house and turned the car off.

I stared at my house, sitting there, dark and cold. No one in there…

"Max? You gonna go inside?" Fang asked slowly.

"Uh…um…uh" I couldn't say anything, I was petrified. He turned the car back on and pulled out. I couldn't form the words to ask where we were going. He drove for about five minutes, then pulled up to Fang's apartment building. I still didn't move to get out of the car, so he got out first, then came around to grab my hand and gently pull me up.

"Come on, now." he said softly, leading me to the front doors. He lead me inside, and up to his apartment.

"Here, change into these. I'll make you some milk. And cookies, I bet you like cookies." he said, smiling and holding out a wife beater and a pair of basketball short. I took them and walked to the bathroom. After I changed, I went into his small kitchen. There was a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk sitting on the table. I sat down and picked up a cookie. I was still shaking, and I tried to take a sip of milk, but just ended up spilling it every where.

"Let me help you." Fang said, coming back from changing his clothes. He grabbed a towel and sopped up the milk then wiped over it with a wet wash cloth.

"I-I-I-I-I'm sorry." I stuttered.

"Wow, you're really scared." he said, throwing the towels into the sink and bringing me a straw. He plunked it down in my milk and sat down across from me.

"I didn't know you got so scared because of movies. We wouldn't have seen it if I did." he said apologetically.

"It's fine." I said, eating a cookie. I took a sip of milk through my straw. After I was full, I made to carry my plate to the sink, but Fang jumped up before I could.

"I don't want you dropping my plates." he said, only half joking. I laid my head down on the table. I must have dozed off, because the next thing I know, I'm being carried to Fang's bedroom. He laid me down on the bed and covered me up. He laid down next to me. (Big bed) and rolled over so that we were both facing opposite directions. I gently dropped off to sleep.

*About 3 hours later*

"AHHHHHHH!" I screamed, sitting straight up.

"What? What?" Fang yelled, popping up beside me.

"Chainsaw-and blood-and murder-and ME!" I cried brokenly. Tears started to form in my eyes. He looked at me startled, then pulled me close. I cried into his chest.

"What happened, Max?" he asked, stroking my hair.

"Nightmare. Don't want to talk about it." I murmured into his chest. The tears subsided, and I pulled away from him and sniffled.

I hate scary movies. This always happens. I freak out, and have to spend the night with my friends house for about a month. I laid back down and closed my puffy, red eyes. Fang laid back down behind me, and I rolled over and snuggled into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, and we fell asleep that way. I know I'm supposed to hate him, but I was too scared to think of anything else right now.

I didn't have another night mare that night…


	5. Chapter 5

"Thanks again for letting me stay last night." I said as Fang dropped me off at my front door.

"No problem. Any time." he winked and walked back to his car.

"This doesn't mean that I like you!" I called to his retreating back.

"Whatever you say, Max! Whatever you say…" he laughed. "Oh, and meet me at the coffee house tonight at 6. I need to talk to you."

I rolled my eyes and stalked into my living room. What does he want to talk to me about? Is he finally going to sign the papers? Probably not…especially after that fight last night.

While I was pondering this, my stomach let loose a ferocious snarl. I jumped, startled, and realized that I hadn't had anything to eat besides cookies. It was around noon, so I made myself a sandwich and sat down to watch some TV. My telephone rang so I stood up and ran to get it.

"Hello?" I asked, breathless.

"Max, oh my God, you have to get down here. It just happened so fast and-" Nudge sobbed into the phone.

"Nudge slow down, what happened?" I asked, fear filling my body and paralyzing me.

"Angel was riding on the back of her boyfriends motorcycle, and they got hit by and 18-wheeler." she hiccupped. "She's in the hospital. Gazzy called me."

"No…no, this isn't happening." I murmured.

"Max, you need to get to the hospital. She is in the emergency room. Hurry, please." Nudge cried. I felt the phone slip out of my hands. I leaned against the wall and slid into a sitting position. I pulled my cell phone out of my back pocket and dialed Fang's number.

"Fang?" I asked when he picked up.

"Yeah, you ok?" he answered.

"No. Angel got hit by an 18-wheeler while she was on the back of her boyfriends motorcycle. I need a ride to the hospital, please." a tear leaked out of my eye and my voice cracked.

"I'll be right there." he said after a moment. I hit end and threw the phone against the wall. Of all people for this to happen to, why Angel? She never did anything to anybody! I felt more tears pool n my eyes and slip out the corners until I was sobbing uncontrollably. I hit the wall with my balled up fists. The doorbell rang and I stood up slowly to answer it.

"Hey." I said, not bothering to wipe the tears off my face.

"Ready to go?" Fang asked.

"Yeah, we need to hurry." I pushed past him and ran to his car. The ride to the hospital was silent except for an occasional cry or sniffle from me. We pulled into the parking lot, spraying gravel everywhere.

"Where is Angel Rodriguez?" I asked, rushing up to the receptionist in the lobby.

"She's in the recovery room. She should be moved to ICU in just a few minutes, which is on the 3rd floor." she said, surprised at our abrupt entry. I whirled around and raced to the elevators. We stepped in and I pressed the floor three button over and over again.

"Oh god hurry up! What if she doesn't make it? What if she just…I dunno, dies? Oh god, oh god, oh god." I stepped out of the elevator and started to run to the Nurse's station, but Fang grabbed me by the shoulder and turned me around to face him.

"Shhh, calm down. It's gonna be ok." he said soothingly. "Let me take care of it. Go sit down." I nodded and walked robotically over to one of the ugly, pastel colored chairs. I felt myself start shaking from head to toe. Damn hospital air conditioning.

"Max!" I heard Nudge cry out and I stood up and ran over to her.

"How is she, how is Angel?" I said.

"Oh, Max, she isn't good. I haven't heard what all of her injuries are, but I just know that she is in serious, critical condition." Nudge bit her lip and tried not to cry again, but, despite her efforts, a few tears leaked out the corners of her eyes. She pulled me into a hug and we cried together.

"Excuse me, are you Angel Rodriguez's friends?" an important looking doctor asked, checking her clipboard.

"Yes, how is she?" Iggy asked, scaring me by coming up behind me. I was surprised to note that he also had tear tracks running down his face.

"Well, I'm not gonna lie to you, she's in pretty bad shape. She has many broken ribs, several lacerations to her body and face, a broken leg, 3 broken fingers, a deep gash on her face about 4 inches long, and, worst of all, a critical head injury. The 18-wheeler mostly hit the front of the bike, but a piece of metal flew out and hit her in the side of the head. It fractured her skull and caused bleeding. We're not sure if it has caused any brain damage yet, but hopefully not. The thing we are most afraid of is her going into a coma. We are going to keep careful watch over her for a while." she said, then started to turn away but I caught the hem of her white coat.

"What about the other person on the motorcycle? Her boyfriend?" I asked. She bit her lip and I almost thought she was going to cry.

"Killed on impact. A shard of glass went straight through his temple, and his body was mangle beyond identification. We had to use dental records to be able to find out who he was. I'm so, so sorry." she whispered, then turned with a flourish and walked quickly away. I sank down slowly to the floor. Angel was going to be devastated if she ever woke up…

"Max? Are you ok?" Nudge asked worriedly as I jumped up and ran for the bathroom. I felt a twisting in my gut, and knew I was going to be sick.

I burst through the stall door and bent over the disgusting toilet and vomited up whatever was in my stomach, then sat back on my heels, exhausted. I chalked the nausea up to shock, and rinsed my mouth out at the sink.

"Max, you ok?" Nudge asked, running into the bathroom.

"I'm not sure what's wrong. I guess I'm just upset."

"The doctor said she can have visitors now, but only one. We think you should go today, and we can visit some other time. You are closest to her…" she trailed off.

"Thank you." I walked out of the bathroom and had the doctor lead me Angel's room.

She looked absolutely awful. Her face was bruised and bloody, her beautiful blond curls all matted with blood. Wrapped around her head was a thick piece of gauze, blood soaking through it, and there was a neat little row of stitches closing up a deep gash on her forehead. Her leg was bulky under the blankets, and she had tubes and wires everywhere. Down her throat, up her nose, in her arms, one connected to her index finger, keeping her pulse. I put my hand to my mouth and choked out a cry.

"Angel, oh Angel!" I sobbed, placing a hand on her cheek. It was cold. I threw back the blanket and saw that her hospital gown was bulky underneath from the bandages. I laid my head gently on her chest, my ear down, and listened for her heartbeat. It was there, but it was not very strong. I stayed for about five minutes more, then covered her back up and fled the room. I ran from the beeping machines, dripping IVs, and from my broken and bruised best friend. I reached Iggy, Gazzy, Fang, and Nudge.

"How does she look?"

"Is she ok?"

"Was it awful?"

Questions fired at me from everyone, and I covered my ears and started running again. I ran down the stairs, out the door, and down the street. I ran until my feet felt like they would burst into flames, then I kept running. I didn't even know where I was going until I skidded to a stop in front of Fang's house. I knelt over and lifted the "Welcome" mat and got the spare key out from under it, thrust it into the key hole, and stormed into his house. I didn't even know why I had come here. It just seemed like the place to be. I went into his room and laid down on his bed and fell into a fitful sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Ok, we are all going to pretend that I wasn't such a doofus, and that everything that is happening is going on about 2 or 3 weeks after Fang and Max got hitched. OK? Ok, on with the story : )**

"Max? Max, wake up? Max!" an insistent voice pierced through my slumber. A strong warm hand shook my left shoulder and I blearily blinked up at Fang, who was looming over me.

"What? Why am I here?" I asked.

"You took off running at the hospital. I just now found you," he said.

I checked my watch: 5:30. I had been asleep for hours.

"Woops. Sorry. I don't know why I came here," I murmured sheepishly. He sighed tiredly.

"Well, I brought some dinner. You hungry? We're going to have to postpone our coffee date again…"

"Yeah, I'm hungry." I got up out his bed and walked to the kitchen.

Then the smell hit me: Garlic bread.

I slapped a hand over my mouth and raced for Fang's bathroom. I barely made it in time to throw the lid of the toilet up and barf my guts into the white porcelain basin. Fang was there holding my hair and rubbing my feverish back. I dry heaved a few times and then sat back, my aching head resting against the edge of the bathtub.

"What was that?" Fang asked.

"I don't know. I just smelled the garlic bread and an awful wave of nausea it me." I muttered. Fang came and sat by me.

"Do you think you're going to be alright?" he asked.

"I'm not sure."

"You want to go lay down on the couch or something?" I nodded and tried to stand, but was once again overwhelmed by nausea. I dropped back down to my knees in front of the toilet and vomited again. After I was done, I rinsed my mouth out in the sink and sank down into a sitting position.

"Could it have been something you ate?"

"I'm not sure." I suddenly remembered Angel and my eyes started tearing again.

"What? What's wrong?" Fang asked, startled at the sudden tears.

"I just…she's like my sister. I **need** her to be ok." the slight trickling of tears turned into sobs as I thought about a life without Angel.

"Hey, shh, it's ok. Shh…" Fang said as he pulled me into his strong, safe arms. I cried into his t-shirt until I had no more tears to cry. Then we just sat there, on the cold bathroom floor, until our butts fell asleep. Fang got up and said that he was going to re-heat the food and that I could use one of the spare toothbrushes that were under the sink if I wanted.

"Thanks." I whispered.

"Yeah. And if it's all right with you, I'd like to go ahead and throw the garlic bread away." I managed a small smile and nodded, then got up and brushed my teeth.

I left the bathroom and made my way slowly to the kitchen. Fang was setting out two plates around the table. I went to his cabinet and got two glasses then filled them up with ice and water. After setting the drinks down at on our place mats, I turned to get some silverware but was hit by a sudden wave of dizziness. My knees buckled and I fell to the ground.

"Max?" Fang exclaimed, alarmed. My eyes were wide with shock and for a second I didn't even move. Then I started crying.

"What are you crying?" Fang asked. He was probably ready to have me committed to a loony bin.

"I don't really know." I answered truthfully. "Stress?"

"Maybe you're just dehydrated. Come on. Let me help you up and then we can eat." he grabbed me under my arms and lifted me easily to my feet. He held my elbow and steered me carefully into my seat.

"Thanks," I said shakily. My head was pounding and I could hear the blood rushing in my ears.

"Thanks for dinner. And for, you know, taking care of me." I muttered to the plate.

"I kinda have to. I mean, you are my wife." he said, smirking. Oh yeah. There was that.

"I'm going to ignore that. How was Angel when you left?" I said, my tone suddenly serious.

"About the same. They changed her bandages and stuff and all the bleeding stopped." Fang said. I breathed a sigh of…well, I don't know what it was. I guess it was just a sigh.

"Fang…I…why do…" I blew my bangs out from my forehead.

"What? What is it?" he asked, intently studied my face.

"What's the real reason you won't sign those papers?" I asked. Fang sat back in his chair and regarded me calmly.

"I don't believe in divorce." he answered, finally.

"…are you kidding me?" I asked incredulously.

"No, actually, I'm not. My mother told me from the time I was little that divorce was bad, and that if I ever got divorced then I would go to hell. Not that I actually believe in hell, but I knew that if I ever got divorced, she would be looking down on me real disappointedly. So I'm not going to get divorced. End of story.

"And that's why you won't divorce me." I asked.

"I took her word to heart. I will not get divorced. Not now, not ever." Fang said.

"Ok, so that's it then? I'm just stuck with you forever? What about all that "in two months" crap? What if I want to date someone else? What if I fall in love with someone else? Hmm? Wat then?" I had jumped up from my chair and was now leaning over him. My voice has been raising until I was nearly yelling. Ok, yeah I get that he was just honoring his mother's word. But still.

"You won't fall in love with anyone else." he said simply.

"Oh yeah? And just how do you know that?" I crossed my thin arms over my chest.

"Because. I know that you are already in love with me." he was standing up now too.

"Get over yourself." I laughed meanly.

"Come on, Max. Just admit it."

"I. Am. Not. In love. With you." I ground out between my teeth.

"Oh but you are." he laughed back at me.

"You are so impossible!" I shrieked and turned to stalk away but he caught my arm and pulled me back around to face him. We were close. Dangerously close.

"Max." he whispered. We were toe to toe and nose to nose. It was almost as if we were having a staring contest, and neither of us wanted to lose.

"You might not love me, Max, but I know I love you." he whispered and then he pulled me to him and he kissed me. It was the sweetest, gentlest kiss I've ever had. His hands were on the small of my back and mine were tangled in his hair. I got light-headed and had to pull away. My breathing was ragged as I stared into his onyx eyes.

"I just…I'm sorry, I can't." I placed both hands on his muscular chest and pushed back slightly. He let go of me immediately and I fled the apartment. I ran all the way down to the little gas station at the corner and call Nudge on the pay phone.

"Hello?" asked a sleepy voice.

"Nudge?"

"Yeah."

"It's me. I need a ride. Can you come get me? Please?" my voice cracked on the last syllable.

"Of course. Where are you, hon?" she asked, her voice soft and gentle.

"At that little gas station right down the street from Fang's house."

"On my way."

"Thank you so much."

Click.

I hung up the pay phone and went inside the gas station. I got a Styrofoam cup of warm coffee and held it between my shaking hands while I waited for Nudge to pull up.

Damn it. Why does he do this to me. How does he do this to me is a better question. I saw Nudge's car pull up and I chunked my coffee in the trash then ran outside to me her. She got out of the car and wrapped me in hug.

"Oh Max, what happened?"

"He told me he loved me. Then he kissed me. And I ran away." I said.

"Why?"

"Because I don't love him! Because I can't love him!"

"Oh yeah? And why cant you?" she asked sassily, her hands on her hips.

"I just can't ok. I can't lose control like I did in there. You know how many different guys I've kissed? 3. And that was after the 3rd month of dating. I've know him for two weeks! He drives me absolutely bonkers! The way he teases me. How he can make me want to just tackle him every time he looks at me that certain way. How I wanted to just melt into his arms when he kissed me. The way my heart fluttered when he said he loved me. I can't handle that! It's not safe, it's not what I'm used to!" Nudge grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me hard.

"Max. There is a man who is completely in love with you, and you ran away? Are you crazy!" she yelled.

"Apparently." I muttered under my breath but, thankfully, she didn't hear me.

"Ok. Here's what is going to happen. I'm going to drive you home, put you into you pajamas, and put you to bed because you look exhausted. And then, tomorrow when you're not ranting and raving like a crazy women, we are going to go to the spa. We are going to have a boy-free day. But after tomorrow, we are going to work this thing out because I don't want you goin' crazy ape shit on my ass in the middle of a gas station parking lot again." I laughed and scratched at my cheek, which is when I realized that I had been crying. Great, just what I needed to wrap up this beautiful hallmark moment.

Nudge drove me home and I changed into my pj's and crawled into my bed. She left after about an hour of sitting on the edge of my bed and rubbing my back to try to get me to go to sleep. I laid awake until about one in the morning, just staring up at the ceiling and thinking about how wonderful it felt to hear Fang whisper those 3 sweet little words.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N OMG LOOK AN UPDATE! **

**That means I found a Co-Author! YAYAYAYAY! She's really great, and she actually wrote almost all of this chapter! Thanks Erica! **

**Chapter 7**

At 7:15 this I woke with a start due to an unexpected yell. Nudge. I guess I'm not allowed to sleep in anymore. I sat up and rubbed a hand over my face tiredly.

"MAX!" another piercing cry came from downstairs. I stumbled out of bed and down the hall. Nudge was sitting at my kitchen table with an illuminating smile gracing her face. How is she so freaking happy this early?

"Welcome to the land of the living, Max. I hope you dropped your mood from yesterday. Hurry and eat. We need to go! The spa opens at 8:00 AM, and you need to get dressed. You sit down and eat a banana and I will pick out your outfit," Nudge said. I lifted an eyebrow skeptically.

"Don't you give me that look! It won't be too bad!" she smiled evily and ran to my room to dig through my closet. I did exactly as she instructed and ate the banana. Twenty minutes and two clothing disagreements later, we headed out.

The spa Nudge brought me to was exactly like all th esame ones you see in the brochures. The walls were dirt brown with light hardwood floors.

After Nudge checked us in with the receptionist, we sat in uncomfortable chairs around a small brown coffee table. For once, Nudge was quiet and the only sound to be heard was the clacking of keys on the receptionist's keyboard. I grabbed an outdates edition of _Seventeen _of the table and flipped through it.

We were called into a moss green room fifteen minutes later. It was the clichéd mud bath room. Why do women find this enjoyable. It's mud! Why pay for this crap when you can spray water into a pile of dirt and get the same effect? This is going to be a long day...

Our bonding day was finally closing. Nudge paid; she said I wasn't allowed to becasue she was trying to "treat me." I was weirdly tired. Who knew going to the spa was tiring? I guess it's like when you oversleep and your muscles get fatigued all over again. Nudge came back to my apartment and ate ice cream while watching movies.

"Thanks, Nudge, for a great day. I wasn't too fond of the spa idea, but it really got my mind off of Angel and Fang."

"You're welcome! I'm so glad you liked it! Maybe we can do this more often. And we can have Angel come next time! I mean, when she fully recovers. How long do you think that will be? I hope not too long. We could do all kinds of fun things again like going to the movies, the spa, and to the club!-"

"Nudge, please don't bring that place up again. I am never going there again. Going there has led to so many problems."

"Speaking of problems, what are you going to do about Fang? You have to apologize, and soon. In fact, tomorrow morning I will personally bring you to his house. Then you can apologize, and be on good terms again." she smiled innocently.

Nudge kept ranting on and on so I tuned her out. I know, I'm such a great friend. The little bit of Ben and Jerry's ice cream I couldn't be bothered to scrape out of the bottom of the tub (yes, the tub. We didn't have dinner) was melting, so I sighed and placed it on the coffee table.

"Nudge," I said, breaking her from her rant on a white house with a picket fence (cliché), playing children, Fang, and me. "I'm scared. The stable ground I stand on drops from under my feet whenever I am with Fang. He's different. I know that for certain. Sometimes I want to be with him, but then I always pull away. I don't know what to do. As soon as I calmed down yesterday, I felt alone. I know you were there for an hour, but I missed his presence. All I could think about was how wonderful it felt to hear him say I love you." My speech worthy of Nudge.

She blinked and stared at me, and for once in her life, Nudge was speechless...

I can't do this. Take me home Nudge, take me home right now! I breathed, slamming my head against the seat. Nudge gave me a pitiful

Sorry, babe. I can't do that, she replied and turned the car off. She got out and shut the door, then came around and opened mine for me. I looked up at her without even taking my seatbelt off.

No, I'm not getting out. You can't make me. NO! I yelled as she unbuckled me and grabbed my wrists to bodily remove me from the car. I grabbed the headrest and kicked at her grabby hands.

"Max, if you don't get your skinny white ass out of my car _right now_, I will go tell Fang to come and get you himself!" she yelled, hands on her hips now.

Well that got me out of the car real fast.

"I hate you," I muttered as we walked up the stpes to Fang's apartment.

"Yep, love you too hon." I rolled my eyes and flipped her off without turning around.

"Ok, I'll come and get you later if you need me to," Nudge said, and left me standing at the entrance to the apartment building. I pressed the intercom button.

"Fang, can I come up?" I released the button and waited anxiously for his response.

"Sure," he replied almost immediately. I heard a buzzing sound and opened the door before it could lock itself again, and ran up the stairs.


	8. The Twist?

**A/N Thanks again to my awesome co-author, erica! I couldn't do this without you!**

**Chapter 9**

"Hello, Max," Fang said when he opened the door. "How are you?"

I brushed past him without saying a word, and went to sit on the couch. After a few minutes, he joined me and asked "Is something wrong?"

I rested my head in my hands and tried not to look up at him. We sat in silence for about five minutes before I finally just exploded. I sprang up from the couch and started pacing around the room. Fang watched me, looking slightly alarmed and kind of adorable- stop it Max! You're here for a reason!

"Stop that!" I say. He raises his eyebrows.

"Stop what?"

"Just- that! Stop making that face!"

"I'm not making a face! This is how my face naturally looks!" oh...uh oh. I don't think I can do this.

"Why do you have to do this to me?" I groan and continue my pacing. Fang stands up and places his hands on my shoulders to make me stop.

"Max, tell me what's going on," he whispered, a look of genuine confusion on his face. I covered my face with my hands and jerked away from him.

"You-you drive me crazy! Everything you do or say gets under my skin and makes me want to scream." I take a deep breath and, ignoring the hurt look in Fang's eyes, I keep going "But I like it. Everything about you- I like. The way you look at me when you think I'm not looking, the way you talk in your sleep, the way you have to separate everything on your plate, even though that's usually something only little kids do. I can't stand this. I can't stand not being in control of these feelings! Even now, I need to just...I don't know!"

"Max, did you just come here to yell at me?" he asked.

"I'm not yelling!" I yelled. Oh...woops?

"Why are you really here?"

"I need to tell you something. I need to tell you that I lo-" there was a sharp rap on the door. Oh my God, I can't tell if I should be relieved or pissed. Maybe both? I clenched my jaw shut.

Fang closed his eyes and let a deep breath out very slowly through his mouth, then went to open the door. I faded into the shadows of the hallway as a hysterical female voice rang out. It didn't sound like anyone I know. How'd she even get up here anyway? You had to be buzzed in downstairs to even get past the lobby.

"Hey, come on, calm down...he did what? Lissa, I can't understand you," I heard Fang say. Then the girl wailed something else and there was silence. I came out of the hallway to see what was happening.

Fang was hugging a tall, red-headed girl. Her hair was tangled, and her clothing was torn and dirty. When they pulled away from each other, I saw that the right side of her face was bruised and bleeding.

I gasped, and both of their heads swiveled in my direction. I covered my mouth quickly, and the Lissa girl raised a hand to her face self-consciously.

"Are you ok?" I asked. I just couldn't help myself. I feel the need to help people who can't help people who can't help themselves. She nodded, and then burst into tears.

"Come on, I'll get you some clean, comfortable clothes and then you can shower," Fang murmured, and then led her down the hall and into the bathroom. I sat on the couch and stared down at the floor until Fang came back. He threw himself down next to me and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"What happened to her?" I whispered. He sighed heavily and looked up at me.

"Dylan beat her, and not for the first time, according to her. I saw bruises all over her arms too, they were just faded."

"I wonder if that's the same Dylan I knew. He never acted like that around me..." My eyes widened, as I realized that that _could_ have been me. I could've been the one showing up on someone's doorstep, beaten and distraught, had I stayed with him. I felt something tickle my cheek and brushed my fingers across it. Surprisingly, my hand came away slightly damp.

"Hey, she's going to be ok. Don't cry," Fang murmured, then pulled me to him and held me. I never cry, but this was just too much.

We sat like that until I heard the bathroom door open, then I twisted out of Fang's embrace and went to get something to eat from the kitchen. I could hear them murmuring as I peeled a banana.

_Maybe, just maybe, when she has calmed down I will talk to her. _

I never got the chance to talk to her. As soon as she stopped crying, she nodded off to sleep; effectively leaving me alone with Fang. Again. And this time we couldn't have a screaming match because it would be wrong of us to wake her up.

He carried her into his bedroom so we wouldn't disturb her. When he walked back into the room after making sure Lisa was ok, I told him now wasn't the time to talk.

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

"Why?" Now he was just being annoying.

"Because I don't want to."

"Why not, Max? Am I not worthy enough to converse with you?"

"Because I don't want to wake up Lissa!" My patience was wearing extremely thin.

"Fine, but that conversation is not over." With that, he plopped on the couch and turned on the sports channel. The announcer's voice droned on as I started fall asleep.

_Why was I so tired all of the sudden? _

I awoke to the sound of talking in the kitchen. Someone was cooking something. As I made my way to the kitchen to see what was up, I was hit with the smell of what was cooking. It didn't go over too well with my stomach. I raced to the bathroom, barely making it in time to puke into the toilet.

Someone, I'm banking it was Fang, eased their way into the bathroom. He pulled my hair away from my sweaty face and rubbed my back between my shoulder blades (how he knew I loved it when people did this, I didn't know), much like the other time this happened. When my stomach settled down, I picked up my head and saw Lissa in the doorway. Fang handed me a wet wash cloth and I cleaned my face of all traces of vomit and sweat. And yeah, that's as attractive as it sounds.

"Morning sickness is a bitch. My sister was pregnant once," She said eloquently. "Drink some water or Sprite, but only take little sips so you don't upset your stomach more."

"Pregnant? But I'm not pregnant! I'm going through a tough time, but I'm not pregnant. I can't be!" I was getting slightly hysterical by the end.

"Fang's told me about how off you are. He called Nudge and asked her about how you were acting too. I would guess you're fatigued, stressed, and get morning sickness/nausea. That's what my sister was like at least."

_What have I gotten into?_

"Listen, I'm not pregnant. That's just- no, ok? Drop it." I pushed past her to get some water, with Fang trailing behind me. I pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator, broke the seal, and sipped slowly, letting the liquid clear my mouth of its bitter taste.

"What if she's right?" Fang asked, stirring something on the stove. I wrinkled my nose at the smell and decided it was best if I just breathed out of my mouth.

"She's not."

"But what if-"

"_She's not!"_ I hissed. There was no way. I could not be pregnant with his baby (and it would have to be- I'm not some skank who sleeps with tons of guys).

"Ok, calm down. Do you want to eat this or should I throw it out?" he asked, gesturing to the pot of tomato sauce. I shook my head.

"No, you and Lissa eat it. I think I'll just tell Nudge to pick me up." I rose unsteadily, still shaky from throwing up, and walked into the living room where Lissa was channel-surfing on the TV. She looked up at me when I entered.

"Hey," she said. I nodded in her direction as I plopped down beside her and pulled out my phone.

I texted Nudge and told her I need a ride. Lissa turned off the TV and turned to me. I raised my eyebrows and gestured for her to talk.

"I know you probably think I'm crazy, but will you just take a pregnancy test? And then, if it's negative, you can rub it in all you'd like." She brushed her long red hair out of her eyes and looked at me hopefully. My eyes skimmed over her battered and swollen face and I felt sorry for her, so I nodded. She grinned sweetly, the smile reaching all the way to her jade green eyes. Who could hurt someone like her? She's so nice…

"What was his last name?" I asked suddenly. She looked at me, confusion evident on her face.

"The guy who hit you-what's his last name?"

"Thompson. Why?" I covered my eyes with both hands to block the sudden wave of tears that threaten to flow down my face. It was him. The same guy I dated. It could've been me.

"Excuse me, I have to go," I said, looking down to see that Nudge had texted me. She was here. I stood and left the apartment quickly, not looking back when Lissa called after me.

"Hey, could you stop at that little pharmacy? I need to get something," I asked Nudge as we drove past. She narrowed her eyes at me, but did what I asked anyways. I ran in, got what I needed, then came out quickly.

"What'd you get?" she asked. I shrugged. She repeated the question, but I refused to acknowledge her.

"Max! What is in that bag!" she asked, almost yelling. I sighed deeply.

"It's a pregnancy test, Nudge." Her eyes grew wider than dinner plates. "Lissa thinks I'm pregnant."

"Whoa, hold up there, girl. Lissa? Who is she?"

"The girl Dylan left me for. Turns out he's a low-life bastard, though. She showed up right before I was about to tell Fang that I did love him, and she was bruised and bloodied. As it turns out, Dylan has a little bit of an anger problem…" Oh wait, I was wrong. _Now_ her eyes were wider than dinner plates. Neither of us spoke for the rest of the ride home. I think she was in shock. Much like I still am.

"So are you going to do it now?" She asked as I unlocked my door and went inside my apartment. I shrugged.

"I guess I have to…" I walked quickly to the bathroom and locked the door before she could say anything

Ugh, can I just mention how gross peeing on a freaking stick is? I washed my hands like, twenty times after I had "done the deed." Then left it on the counter (with the peed on part over the sink!) and went to set a timer. Nudge and I sat on the couch and stared at the wall until the timer beeped. My eyebrows disappeared into my bangs and Nudge swallowed a squeal. She jumped up immediately while I just sat there, biting at my cuticles.

"You want me to look?" she asked. I nodded once, and she practically skipped to the bathroom.

"Max," she said when she came back, holding the pregnancy test, "it's…"

**A/N Review? **


	9. Pregnant or not, here we come!

**A/N Oh goodness...where to begin? With an apology, I guess. It's been *counts on fingers* what? 8 months since an update? You guys...those of you who are even reading this anymore, anyways...I am so deeply sorry. I let you all down, in a way. It wasn't really fair to you guys to leave you all hanging for so long. From now on, this story will be updated every other week _at least_ until the story is over. I left you all at a HUGE cliffhanger. I believe someone even said "you are dead to me now!". Ouch. That's pretty harsh...I think I even got a death threat or two. Even this chapter isn't enough to make it up to you guys. There might possibly be another update sometime this weekend, I don't know. I just want you all to know how sorry I am. **

**You all have laura loom to thank for this update, by the way. Her review made me laugh and, quite frankly, get my ass in gear. **

**Chapter 8**

"It's negative," Nudge said, her face falling in disappointment. A giant weight seemed to lift off my chest, finally letting me breathe. I mean, it will be a lot easier this way. Thank God I didn't tell Fang I was going to take that test...

"So…what now?" I asked. Nudge through the test away, scrubbed her hands at the kitchen sink, then came and flopped down next to me on the couch.

"I don't know. Are you happy?"

"Well, kind of. I mean, my life is crazy enough without a baby…" I closed my eyes and let my head fall against the back of the couch. "God, Nudge. I feel like my brain is trying to escape through my ears. I'm so confused as to what I want." She patted my jean-clad leg twice.

"I don't know what you want me to say…why don't you take a nap? Maybe it'll clear your head a bit."

I took her advice and let myself drift off…

* * *

I was standing in a kitchen… that definitely wasn't mine. It looked like Fang's. _Is this a dream?_ In fact it looked like I was cooking. _Now I know this is definitely a dream._

The cutest peel of laughter came from a couple rooms away. Who was it? Naturally my curiosity kicked in and I followed it.

As I started walking, my suspicions were confirmed. It was definitely Fang's apartment. As I walked closer to the mysterious source of laughing and giggling, I heard another voice. Fang. _Duh, it's his apartment. _I couldn't make out what they were saying. Darn this infuriatingly slow crawl I couldn't speed up.

I finally got to the door- only to be attacked by a tiny sticky monster.

"Mommy! Look at this! Daddy, do it again!" _Mommy?_

"Max!" And I woke with a start. Nudge was shaking my shoulder. "We got a call from the hospital. Angel's awake."

* * *

"Yes, hello, could you please-"

"Max!"

I turned around from asking the receptionist where my friend was recovering to see Iggy moving towards me purposefully, followed by Gazzy.

"Have you seen her? How is she?" I asked. Iggy swept me into a hug. "Well? Have you seen her?" I mumbled into his coat.

"Not yet, no. We were waiting for you."

"Has anyone called her dad?" Nudge asked. We began walking down the hall; Iggy was leading the way to what I'm guessing was Angel's room.

"I did," Gazzy said. "He said he'd be here sometime tomorrow. He couldn't get a sooner flight."

"How come he never came down when he found out she was hurt?"

Iggy and Gazzy exchanged a look. It was a stupid question- I know.

Iggy sighed. "You know how he is."

"Max?"

I glanced over my shoulder. Fang was walking towards us, his black hair dripping onto his t-shirt.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Nudge called me. I was in the shower. I'm pretty sure I still have soap in my hair," he said, and ran a hand through it. "I knew you'd probably need someone to lean on right now."

He pulled me to him and held on tight. I stiffened, not completely sure what to do. Slowly, my arms came around him. My fingers clung to his soft shirt as I buried my face in his chest, inhaling the scent of men's soap and laundry detergent.

"The doctor said only one or two people can see her at a time," Nudge said. I pulled away from Fang slightly to look at Iggy and Gazzy.

"You guys go. I need to talk to Fang and...I guess prepare myself. It didn't go too well last time I was here," I said. It didn't go well at all.

Iggy and Gazzy disappeared into Angel's room. Fang put his arm around me and led me to the waiting room down the hall, Nudge following at a distance. The antiseptic smell that was customary to all hospitals burnt my nose, and I sneezed.

"Bless you," Nudge said. "You're not getting sick, are you?"

"I hope not."

We all took a seat in plastic chairs. There was a TV hanging on the wall, playing a static-y version of the news.

"Fang," I began. "I need to talk to you about something."

Nudge shifted in her seat, then just stood up altogether. "I-I think I'll go see what they have in the vending machine downstairs. Be right back."

She practically left a smoke trail, she left so fast. I looked at Fang, with his still-wet hair and sad almost-black eyes.

"Is this about the divorce again?"

I shook my head. I didn't want to speak of anything sad at the moment. Well, not anything like that anyways.

"No. I, um...I took that pregnancy test like Lissa suggested." He glanced up at me sharply, his eyes no longer sad. Instead, they were filled with a mixture of fear and excitement.

"Well? What'd it say? Are you...pregnant?" He whispered 'pregnant' like just saying it could make it true.

"It was-"

"Max, it's your turn," Iggy said, coming into the waiting room and unintentionally interrupting me. Fang shot him a dirty look. "Oh, sorry. Did I interrupt you two being lovey-dovey?"

"Shut up, Iggy. This isn't the time for your immature jokes," I said. His strawberry-blonde eyebrows sank low over his blue eyes in anger.

"Why don't you just go get married to some stranger. Oh wait!" he sneered. "You already did that!"

"Dude, Iggy. Too far!" Fang yelled, rising swiftly to his feet.

"Why don't you just shove you and your bad attitude up your ass!" I spat, also standing. Fang grabbed my arm, but I shook him off and got very close to Iggy's face so that I could look him straight in the eye.

"I am here because my best friend, who is basically like my sister, is finally alert after being in an awful accident. Her boyfriend is dead. Her father is coming to see her, and we all know that isn't going to end up well. I have to break both pieces of news to her. And on top of that, my life is falling apart," I whispered. "I don't need you to point out a stupid mistake that I made. I don't need you to rub it in. What I do need you to do, though, is get the hell away from me before I end up spending my life in prison for murdering you."

He opened his mouth, probably to call me a name that starts with a 'b' and ends with an itch, but Fang stepped between us.

"Ig, man. Come on. Just go."

He turned on his heel and stormed away. Gazzy dodged his angry form and looked at Fang.

"What the hell is his problem?"

I groaned and leaned into Fang's side. He stroked my hair softly, and I felt some of the tension ease out of my shoulders and neck. I was getting a killer headache.

"Don't even ask," he muttered.

"Angel wants to see you, Max." Gazzy patted my shoulder and sat down, grabbing the remote and flipping channels until he found SpongeBob.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Fang asked in a quiet voice.

I didn't think I could see her all broken like last time without some support, so I nodded my head 'yes'. His hand slid down my arm to my hand, and I threaded my fingers through his.

"This is the first time I've ever held my wife's hand," he said with a smirk. I tried for a smile, but it wouldn't stay where I put it and instead slid into a frown. "Hey, it's okay. Iggy will come around. Angel will be okay. I promise."

"Thank you, Fang. Thank you for being here. I really needed someone."

He smiled, but there was something troubling brewing in his eyes.

We stopped outside of Angel's room. Fang turned to face me, a serious expression on his once-joking face.

"Max. I know this is an important moment for you. But I have a question…"

I waited for him to go on. He was looking down at our clasped hands.

"Are you standing here, holding my hand, because you like me or am I really just here to comfort you?"

"Fang, please, can we not do this right now? Please?" I couldn't believe this. Just this morning I was ready to confess my love for him, as cheesy as that sounds, but now I could barely look at him. Didn't he get that this was a bad time? "I need to see my friend, and I need you to be in there with me."

"Why me? Why not Nudge or Gazzy?"

"Fang, please! Please don't question me!" I could feel tears starting to burn at the back of my eyes.

"Do you promise you'll finally meet me for coffee then, tonight?"

I rolled my eyes, dropped his hand, and shoved my way into the room. I was slightly surprised when he followed me, but I didn't say anything.

The hospital room was dark with the curtains drawn. A steady 'beep-beep-beep' and a 'drip-drip-drip' filled the small space. Angel was propped up on what seemed like a dozen pillows. There were rings around her blue eyes, which seemed to be shutting without her consent.

"Angel," I whispered. Her split lips spread into a smile at the sight of me.

"Hey," she croaked. "Come here. I'm not going to bite."

We ventured further into the room. My hands shook as I sat by her head.

"How are you feeling?" I asked carefully. She raised an eyebrow.

"Max, I have a head injury. That doesn't mean I'm going to die. You don't have to treat me like I'm so fragile."

Which, of course, was when things went downhill.

She got an odd expression on her face and sat up quickly. She leaned over the side of her bed and threw up on to the floor. I looked down, disgusted.

But what I saw there made me hold back chunks of my own.

Red. Bright, angry red liquid spreading across the floor.

"Oh my God. Oh my God, Fang, call the nurse. Call her!" I shrieked hysterically. Angel collapsed back against her bed, her eyelids fluttering closed. I stood up, sending my chair clattering to the floor.

"Angel!" I yelled in her face. "Angel, open your eyes. Now!"

"Max, come on," Fang said. He pulled on my arm, but I wrenched away.

Angel had blood trickling down her chin. I wiped it off with the sleeve of my hoodie. I grabbed her face and put mine very close to her. I was losing her, I could feel it. I might not have a doctor's degree, but I knew vomiting blood wasn't a good sign. "Wake up, damn it!" I shook her shoulders. Her head snapped back limply, and I started crying.

"Max!" Fang yelled, probably not for the first time. He grabbed me around the waist and dragged me from her bed. She started convulsing, her eyelids fluttering. Nurses flooded the room. The words "seizure", "internal bleeding" and "emergency surgery" floated into my ears. Fang pulled me into the hallway, with me fighting him the whole time. I dug my nails into his interlocked hands on my stomach. I kicked my heels into his shins. I screamed. I did anything I could to make him let me go so that I could get back in there to see Angel.

"Let go!" I finally sobbed. He turned me around so that I was facing him. I pushed at his chest, beating it with my fists. He pulled me close, tucking my head under his chin. I struggled to get free, but he held on like his life depended on it. I finally gave in and let him comfort me while I pressed my hands to my flowing eyes. His hands smoothed over my hair and down my back. He interlocked his fingers and held me tightly against his chest.

"What happened?" I heard Gazzy ask. Fang murmured something quietly.

"Oh my God," Nudge said. Her voice cracked, and I heard her sniffle quietly. A hand rested lightly on my shoulder.

The door to her room opened, and nurses pushed her out on a bed with wheels. She looked so breakable laying there. Fang tightened his arms so I couldn't run after the retreating nurses.

"Hey!" I heard Iggy say. He sounded outraged.

I peeked out from under Fang's arm. Iggy was running towards us.

"What the hell happened? What's wrong with her? Where are they taking her?" he asked. He sounded terrified now.

"While we were in there…she vomited blood and had a seizure," Fang explained. My cried came to a shuddering stop, but I kept my face buried in Fang's chest.

"Excuse me?"

I pulled away from Fang and turned to look at the lone nurse left in the doorway of Angel's hospital room, along with everyone else. She was sort of hunched in on herself, hugging her clipboard to her chest.

"Are-are you her friends?" she asked. Iggy stepped forward.

"Yeah. What's it to you?"

"I'm not exactly supposed to be telling you this since you're not family…" she said. "If it gets out that you all know, I could be fired."

"Spit it out, lady!" Iggy said.

"Iggy! Don't be rude!" Nudge sounded appalled.

"Your friend, Angela-

"Angel," I interrupted in a tear-drowned voice.

"Angel," she corrected herself, looking straight at me with an apologetic look on her face. "Angels just suffered from a seizure. The cause of this is still unknown. We also believe she might either have internal bleeding in her stomach or popped a stitch there, which caused her to vomit blood. I'll let you know as soon as we figure out what's going on."

When she was talking about Angel, her voice lost the stutter and became powerful. She knew what she was doing- I'll give her that.

"Why would she have stitches in her stomach?" Gazzy asked.

"I'm not sure. You'll have to ask her doctor about that." The nurse gave us a small smile and walked off.

We stood in silence, the only sound coming from an occasional hiccup from me.

"It's three-thirty now," Nudge said. "I think we should take shifts until she gets out of surgery. I offer to take the night shift. Or, at least until visiting hours are over."

"Since we're not family, they won't let us stay after five. I'll come back in the morning at nine." Gazzy said.

"I-I think I n-need to sit d-down," I forced through chattering teeth. I was in shock. I had to be. I was freezing. The cold was all around me, wrapping around my chest. Oh, God, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe. I inhaled rapidly, trying to force air into my lungs.

It wasn't working.

My vision started to narrow and black spot dance over my eyes. My knees shook. I crumbled, still in Fang's arms. The last thing I remembered before blacking out was Fang following me down to the floor, yelling my name.

**A/N Have I mentioned that reviews make me more likely to update? In like, a day or so? 'Cause they dooo~**


	10. To Tell or Not to Tell?

**A/N So it's kind of short, but it's an update! And it hasn't been 7 months! YAY! I deserve a cookie...or a Pretty Woman movie session...hmmm...**

**Chapter Nine**

**To tell or not to tell?**

I came-to, fully aware of three sets of eyes trained on my face. A dull ache throbbed between my eyes- the beginning of a killer migraine. A low moan escaped my lips. My stomach was still upset from seeing all that blood earlier. Poor Angel…

_Angel. _Oh, God. What was wrong with her now? I tried to sit up, but a pair of strong hands held me down by my shoulders.

"Stop. Got to find Angel. Let…go," I mumbled. A small part of me wondered if I was even coherent. Another, much larger part of me didn't care about anything but seeing Angel.

"Shhh, lay down Max. Just rest." Fang. He was still here. That's nice…

"What happened?" I asked. My thoughts were all fuzzy, like someone had disconnected the wires in my brain.

"You passed out earlier, probably from stress. They moved you to a vacated room to…to recover," Nudge said, biting her lip and glancing up at Fang. That was weird.

I looked down at myself. I had on one of those pale blue hospital gowns with the gaping holes in the back (_note to self: don't stand up. There will be no Max-butt flashing today._) There was a needle taped to the back of my hand that was connected to a bag of clear liquid.

"What's that?"

"You were dehydrated, so they're just giving you fluids. They also drew a little blood to check your sugar levels. Make sure you're eating correctly," Nudge said. She was holding the hand that wasn't currently occupied by a needle (don't think about it don't think about it don't think about it) with both of her's. Gazzy sat in one of the three chairs in the room and stared up at the TV. A game was on, probably the same one he was watching earlier.

"I told them you were fine, but they wouldn't listen to me," he said over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off the screen. I rolled my eyes with what little energy I had left.

"Thanks for the concern, Gaz," I croaked. "I really appreciate it."

"Any time."

I looked around and noticed for the first time that Iggy was nowhere to be found.

"He went to the bathroom," Fang said quickly, either seeing the expression on my face or the way my eyes were scanning the room. "He should be back soon." I nodded. And, speak of the devil, Iggy appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, Max. Feeling better?"

I shrugged, and he came closer.

"Listen, I'm really sorry for the things I said earlier. I was wrong. I guess I'm just stressed about Angel. Obviously not as much as you since I didn't, you know, pass out of anything…" he smiled a tiny grin and looked up at me through his lashes. I fought it, but in the end I smiled too. I couldn't stay mad at him; we'd been friends too long.

"We're all stressed. It's okay, Ig."

He smoothed my hair back and kissed my forehead. He really has been my friend for years. Almost as long as Angel and I.

"How's Angel?" I asked, the thought of her bringing me back to the present situation. Some fuses were beginning to snap back together, and I was feeling more alert.

"We don't know yet. She's still in surgery. You were out for an hour and a half, but that might've just been because of the sedative they gave you…" she stopped talking and frowned. "Wait; was _that_ the thing I wasn't supposed to say out loud?"

Gazzy chuckled. Fang closed his eyes and said very slowly, "Yes, Nudge. That was the thing."

"Oops…"

"Sedative? Why would they give me a sedative if I was already unconscious?"

"You kind of woke up or something and hour ago and started freaking out. You were thrashing around and yelling Angel's name. They couldn't calm you down and they didn't want you to hurt yourself, so they sedated you and brought you in here. It obviously wasn't a very strong sedative, since you were only out for an hour or so." Nudge stopped talking when Iggy shot her an ugly look. "Sorry," she whispered.

"Call the nurse. I'd like to be unhooked from this crap so I can leave."

"Guys, why don't y'all go get something to eat from the cafeteria. I need to talk to Max," Fang said. Iggy and Gazzy looked at each other suspiciously then slowly filed out of the room.

Nudge hugged me and hissed in my ear, "We are _so _talking later."

The door shut behind her with a sharp _click_. Fang took Nudge's vacated chair and clasped his hands under his chin. His dark eyes studied me.

"What is it?" He was scaring me.

"We were talking earlier. You were saying something about a pregnancy test." For once, he actually looked scared. But scared of what, exactly?

"What about it?"

"Well…are you?"

Then it was my turn to study him until he got uncomfortable. Was he…shaking?

"It was negative, Fang. I'm not pregnant." I lay back against my pillows that smelled of rubbing alcohol, sick people, and cheap fabric softener. "I'm not pregnant," I repeated. I felt a warm touch on my arm, and I unclenched my fist and gripped his hand tightly.

I risked a peek through my lashes at his face. He didn't look relieved. He looked shocked. Depressed. Like his world had just shattered. He put up a mask, and I looked away.

"I guess it's for the best. We're both busy anyways."

Yeah. It's summer break, we're not taking any classes, and I don't have a job because my mother sends me money for food and rent every month. I'm super busy.

But I didn't say that out loud. I was still too busy trying to figure out why he was crushed.

"Miss Ride?"

We both looked up at the nurse who poked her head around the door.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" she entered the room completely, her clip board attached to her hip. "Excuse me, sir; I'm going to have to ask you to leave to due patient confidentiality rules." She smiled a sugar-coated grin.

Fang raised his eyebrows at her then brought my hand to his hips and kissed my fingertips, whisper-soft. My stomach fluttered and my eyes opened wide in shock.

He left without saying another word. The nurse giggled like a schoolgirl.

"It's so nice to have someone you love in your time of need, isn't it?" she asked and grinned. When she turned to check my heart-rate monitor, however, I thought I saw her smile wobble a bit.

"I don't love…yeah. I guess it is nice." I smiled a little to myself. She came over and checked my IV drip.

"So your blood tests came back. Your sugar levels were a tad bit low, so drink a lot of fluids when you get home, mostly juices." She checked her clipboard again. "Oh, and congratulations by the way!"

I narrowed my eyes at her. What had this lady been smoking?

"Congratulations for what?" Please don't be something weird.

"On your pregnancy, of course!" She smiled, _again_, but I think I saw a glimmer of tears in her eyes.

…

…

…

…

…

What did she just say?

My jaw hit the floor, along with my stomach. Apparently, this wasn't the reaction she was looking for?

"I'm not pregnant!" I squeaked.

"Y-yes you are. The blood tests came back positive."

"No. No, that's impossible. I just took a test," I said. I was starting to sound hysterical. "_I'm_ _not pregnant!"_

"Ma'am, please calm down! I just assumed you already knew! Oh, they're going to fire me now for sure!" She buried her face in her hands and burst into tears. Actually, I felt like doing the same. I pressed the "call-nurse" button on my bed-remote.

One was here in practically seconds.

"Um…"I said, gesturing to the hysterical nurse. The other one sighed and placed her hands on her wide hips.

"Mary, sugar. Come on now, dear. Let's go." She gently ushered her from the room and came back a few minutes later.

"Sorry about Mary. She's been a little off-balance since her husband died."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, sugar. You didn't know no better," she said and smiled. Her teeth were bright against her dark skin.

"Do you know when they're going to let me go?"

"Just as soon as I get your discharge papers together." She turned to leave.

"Wait." She turned back around, a patient look on her kind face. "Do you know if blood-pregnancy tests are wrong?"

"I've never heard of it happening, but I guess there's a slim chance." Fang caught the door on her way out.

"Hey, what'd she need to tell you?" he asked.

To tell or not to tell?

"Are you okay?" he asked. He sat next to me and gripped my hand, the one he kissed, in both of his.

"Nothing. I'm fine," I lied.

Not to tell, apparently. My mouth decided this for me.

"That's good. Angel's out of surgery. She popped a stitch in her stomach, which is why she threw up blood. They caught it in time and sewed her back up, though. She's in recovery. Only family can visit her right now."

I tried to smile, but my head was spinning. I honestly thought I was going to pass out again, barf, or do both simultaneously.

Oh God, I'm pregnant. What would my mother say?

"Max," Nudge said, bursting into the room. "You're mom just called your cell and I answered it. She's on a plane, Max. She read about the marriage online. She's coming. Tonight."

Oh, _Hell. _Something tells me things are about to get interesting…


	11. Author's Note, super important!

**A/N** Hey you guys. I kind of took another little unofficial hiatus. I'm really sorry, and that doesn't mean I'm leaving for good. It doesn't mean that at all, actually. I'm sure half my readers won't even bother reading this or anything else I post, ever again, and I can't really blame them. By posting things here, I made a commitment to follow through with my stuff, and I don't want to be that author who leaves her stories hanging. But, I have to say, fanfiction definitely isn't at the top of my priorities anymore, which makes me extremely sad to say.

I have completed the first draft of a novel and am more than halfway through two more. I am just overjoyed to be able to say that. And you want to know what the scary thing is? I don't think that would've happened unless I had fanfiction back when I was thirteen years old.

I never had any desire to write. None. _At all_. And now I'm planning my entire future around one passion I never saw coming. I'm picking out colleges I want to go to based on their creative writing programs. I am fifteen years old and I've planned ahead more than most seniors I know. To think that without this website I wouldn't even have any of this is mind-blowing. I would be…lost without writing. I'm not especially talented at anything, if I'm being completely honest. But when I'm writing, it's like the only time I can see clearly. I know I'm probably not all that talented at it, either, but I'm working on it.

Give me until July. I'll have my second novel complete and a whole month until August Camp NaNoWriMo. In July, Nevermore and Mistake or Blessing will be completed (if Erica is available.) I want to say thank you to those of you who are still with me. And a big, over-due "I'm sorry!" as well.


	12. Mother Dearest? Yeah, right

**A/N Hey you guys. I know I promised that this was going to be completely finished in July, and I am so very sorry that it wasn't. I think I was so burnt out from writing a book in a month, and I think I might have struggled a bit with a strong bout of depression before I picked myself up and gave myself a kick in the ass, then said "Get over it. You're strong, and you have an obligation now."**

** I love all of you for reviewing, and reading, and sticking with me through the infrequent updates. I think we're almost at the end, finally, after starting this so many months ago. **

**Chapter 10**

It was five minutes to six. _Five_ minutes until my mother was due here. Currently, Fang and I were rushing around his apartment trying tidy up. Her arrival was certainly keeping me from thinking. She was going to flip out when I told her… Oh crap! And Fang! Ugh, so much for not thinking about it.

Two minutes...to go…and the bathroom hasn't even been cleaned yet!

_She's early_. No time now; damn it. The doorbell rings and she's standing there in all her glory. My mother. I never really thought she could be so intimidating. She stood a few inches shorter than me; that didn't make her less threatening. We had the same brown eyes. Her hair was slightly graying and was just past her shoulders.

"Max! Why haven't you called me? How are you? And you never told me about Angel!" My mom practically flew at me, attacked me with a hug and screaming in my ear. She could rival Nudge is she really wanted too.

"Things were happening so fast mom. I should have called you. Sorry." I tried to mollify her, but she continued ranting on. That is, until she saw Fang standing in the kitchen door way.

"So _this_ is Fang…" she said, circling him like a predator does her pray before pouncing. "Hmmm. Well I can't say I approve of how the marriage came about, but he's not too bad, is he?"

"_Mother_!" My mom completely ignored my outburst and held out her hand.

"Hello. You can call me Valencia. Just a fair warning now- if you hurt my daughter, you will have _me_ to answer too. Understand? Good." Fang tensed a tiny bit, but otherwise kept his cool.

"Don't worry ma'am. I have no intention on 'hurting her.' Despite all this commotion, I'm trying to get her to fall for me. I have a two month deadline you see…"

It was like I wasn't even there and they were old friends. From stories of my first day of school to pets and even my disastrous dating past . Everything was talked about. I had to stop them before I was completely mortified. I groaned and covered my face with my hands, mumbling through my fingers.

"Um, well as _lovely_ as this chat is, how about we get dinner? We can go out someplace nice," I said. My attempt didn't work at all. They just agreed and continued talking away. Fang smirked at me when my mom was slipping back into her coat. That little _asshat_! Two can play this game.

"Mom, don't you want to know more about the guy who I'm married too? I mean, for all we know, he kicked puppies and mutilated birds as a kid." _HA! Take that, _honey_!_

"Oh… Good point. Where did you go to school? What are you majoring in? Where did you grow up? What's your family like? Did you play any sport?" Mom suddenly became very interested in making sure he wasn't some sicko. She asked him all these questions as we walked to the car.

It was actually pretty enlightening for me too, because we never really talked about ourselves _personally_ before. I was married to a virtual stranger.

"Well, I grew up in Colorado and I had two younger sisters who were twins, but they were killed when they were very little. A terrible hit-and-run accident took them and my parents. My aunt took care of me after that. I never really played sports.I wasn't the very top of my class in high school, but my grades weren't bad. Currently, I attend the same university as Max. I'm majoring in criminal justice."

_Oh. _Well that was a lot to take in. The rest of the car ride was pretty much silent, except for the radio playing quietly. The atmosphere was becoming increasingly more awkward until…

"So, Max. How's Angel doing?" This silence was _much_ better.

"She woke up the other day. She had a seizure and internal bleeding though. Not too great, I guess."

"Oh that's a shame. She was always such a sweet girl. When is her father coming in? I wonder if I could see her…"

"I don't know mom. Really, let's not talk about this. Where are we going, anyway?"

"We're going to this little restaurant my friend told me about. I can't quite remember the name now. The food's supposed to be 'amazing.' I was assured we would love it."

"So, mom, how's Ella?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood. My mother stiffened and barely flicked her gaze over to me before staring back at the road.

"Your sister had I have had some…differences these past few weeks, to say the least."

I watched her fingers tighten on the wheel and she took a turn a little sharply.

"Mom? You okay?"

I could feel Fang's eyes boring holes into the back of my head, but I ignored him. I'd never talked about my family much before. He's probably wondering what's going on…actually, _I'm _wondering what's going on.

"I'm fine. She just irks me sometimes."

I look up to see that we'd arrived at the restaurant. It was a cute little building built with bricks, and a green awning covering the front door.

"Um, Fang, why don't you go on in? Get us a table, please?" I said over my shoulder. His dark eyes surveyed mine before he nodded once and ducked out of the car.

"Mom," I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. "What happened?"

She rolled her eyes and leaned back against her headrest. "Her grades have been dropping drastically ever since she met some boy. I told her to break up with him or I would take her car away, and she disappeared for a couple days. I think she was with him. You know he's eighteen? I could legally sue him…but I'm afraid that would drive her away forever."

"Why would you sue him?"

"She's still a minor, and I'm sure he's probably talked his way into her pants by now."

"Mom!"

"You know Ella, right?"

I locked eyes with her for a moment before closing mine and rubbing my hands over my face. A jolt in my gut made me groan and hold my fingers against the flesh of my stomach through my thin cotton t-shirt.

"Are you alright, dear?" my mother asks with worry creasing her brow. I waved her off and pressed my lips together in a thin line.

The roll of nausea passed and I let a slow breath out between my teeth. "I'm okay. Just a little cramp. I think I might be about to start my period or something."

_Excellent diversion, Max. Now she'll never guess you're actually pregnant. _

_Now I'm talking to myself. Am I crazy? No…I don't think so. Do crazy people know they're crazy?_

_Nah…well…nah. _

_Nope, I'm _definitely_ not crazy. _

"Here, I have some Midol," my mom said, digging through her purse and coming up with a pill and a random bottle of water. All she's missing is the kitchen sink, or however that saying goes.

I pretended to knock back the medication, but really, I hid it under my tongue and spat it out into the grass after we exited the car.

I walked right past the hostess' stand when we got into the restaurant and scanned the dimly lit room for Fang's black hair and…there. He was in the far back, almost hidden behind a drink station, sitting on one side of a booth.

"Hey, there y'all are." He smiled as I came into view. "I was beginning to worry."

I slid into the booth next to him and picked up a menu. He did a very husband-y thing and kissed my cheek before throwing his arm over the back of our seat and relaxing into the cheap vinyl. My face colored and I tried not to think about how the soft scratch of stubble on his chin against my skin sent chills down my spine.

"So, Max." My mom's tone was completely, 100% dead serious now. No more joking. No more friendly chats with my 'husband.' Her face was stone cold and emotionless. "What do you two plan to do about this little…ordeal?"

I felt Fang stiffen behind me, and I risked a glance in his direction. A muscle fluttered in his jaw. "I don't think I know what you mean."

"I mean, you can't possibly think that this little thing you two have going on is going to work."

"Hey, I still have two months!" His voice was indignant, and his arm grew tighter around my shoulders. I shifted, only a little uncomfortable with our current arrangement, and tried not to let the guilt show on my face. Boy, if she only knew the extent as to which we were screwed…

"Max, do you love this boy?'

"Um…"

"Exactly. Now, would you like me to set up a court date for you two while I'm still in town? I leave in two days, so if you do you need to tell me now."

"Mom, stop." I leaned forward and placed both hands on the table. I fleetingly wondered where the hell our waiter was, but then realized we probably wouldn't be here long enough to eat anyways. "I'm an adult. I can make my own decisions and court dates and whatever else I need to. If Fang is really so adamant about trying to 'win me over,' then I'm going to let him give it a shot."

I left out the part about me falling head over heels for him, already. The two months were really just a bonus.

My mom's mouth was slightly agape as she stared at the two of us. I willed my face to return to its normal, pale color, but I could still feel the two spots of red burning brightly in my cheeks.

"I-If that's how you feel, then alright. I will let you two work this out." She swallowed and stared down at her hands. The waiter showed up then, apologizing profusely about his absence, and the rest of the meal was eaten in solemn silence. Afterwards, I gave my mother the key to my town house, dropped her off at my front door, and took her car to drive Fang and me over to his apartment.

"God, can you believe her?" I said, pushing Fang's key into his door. I shoved my way into his apartment and flung my purse off to the side. It landed in the corner, slumped over like a toy long-forgotten. "She's always in my business like that."

"I think she means well. And she seems to be a lot of fun."

I turned to face him, my eyebrows raised so high they disappeared under my bangs. He stood just outside the door, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans.

"What are you saying? I defended you!"

"I know, I know. I just meant that she has your best interest at heart. You could be right," he said, then smirked and shrugged. "I could be a weirdo. You don't really know me."

I rolled my eyes and ventured further into the darkened apartment. It was freezing in here, even though it was sweltering outside. He must have had his A.C. on full blast.

I threw myself down on the couch and pulled the blanket hanging off the back over me. I heard the door close, and several moment later, Fang plopped down next to me. He stared at me for a second, and I began to squirm.

"What are you looking at?"

"You."

"Why?"

"Because I never want to forget what you look like, right now, with your hair windblown and your nose red from the cold coming from the air conditioning."

I blushed a brilliant red at his forwardness and tried to tame my hair. He laughs and shakes his head. "You have no idea how hard it was to say that out loud."

I chuckle nervously in reply and look at him out of the corner of my eyes. He's still looking at me, and there's a certain softness to his gaze that doesn't come out often.

He sighed, glanced away, and flipped on the television. The moment of fragile magic was broken, and I was left with a tightness in my chest that wasn't all too unwelcome, and completely heartbreaking at the same time.

If I told him how I felt, how do I know he wouldn't change his mind about me and shatter my heart into a bajillion pieces? How do I know I can trust him?

And why am I so scared about the fact that I might not be able to?


	13. ReWrite Information

**Hey, everyone, I'm really sorry about all of the slow updates. Not just on this story, but on all of the stories. **

**This story is **_**way**_** more popular than I ever planned it to be. It has 143 followers, 179 favorites, 324 reviews, and numerous author alerts have come out of it. It's by far my favorite story to write, and it's the most popular story out of any of my others. **

**And, since that is true, Erica and I (well, I mostly sprung this on her, but she agreed!) are going to re-write the first chapters of Mistake or Blessing. The writing…well, it sucks. And the backstory…sucks. And the consistency…sucks. **

**I have the first three chapters done already, and I just wanted to let everyone know what's going on. I recommend that everyone reads the new chapters because 1) I'm such a slow updater that you've probably forgotten most of it anyways, and 2) because I've been dropping little hints of backstory in. Nothing serious enough to re-write the entire ending of the story, but the new chapters are going to be so much better than the original just quality-wise. **

**Thanks for listening to this long author's note, and the next **_**new **_**chapter should be up soon!**


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